Machine for finishing carpets and rugs



Sept. 18, 1934. KNOWLAND r AL 1,974,400

MACHINE FOR FINISHING CARPETs. AND RUGS Filed Nov. 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY Spt. 18, 1934., R. e. KNOWLAND ET AL MACHINE FOR FINISHING CARPETS AND BUGS Filed Nov. 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 //v VENTOR fimz 5 Ma? ATTO FPNEY Patented Sept. 18, 1934 PATENT oFFIcE 1,974,400 MACHINE FOR FINISHING CABPE'IS AND RUGS Richard G. Knowland, Longmeadow, Mass, and

Wellesley B. Cooper,

Amsterdam, N. Y., as-

signors to Bigelow- Sanford.Carpet 00., Inc.,

Thompsonville, C0nn.,

chusetts a corporation of Massa- Y Application November 18, 1931, Serial No; 575,765 7 4 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for treating the pile of carpets and rugs to impart an improved finish thereto. a

Pile carpets and rugs as ordinarily made have the pile surface formed of twisted pile yarns secured to a backingfabric to provide rows of tufts projecting from the backing fabric. This row arrangement of the tufts remains more or less apparent in the finished fabric, and in many cases thebacking fabric will grin through, thus detracting from the appearance of the carpet or rug during use.

- It hasbeen proposed heretofore to brush the pile of a carpet or rug to remove the loose fibres and to cause the pile forming tufts to stand up, but these prior treatments do not remove the row appearance of the tufts or prevent the backing fabric from showing through the pile, particularly in the cheaper weaves.

The present invention is directed to a machine for improving the finish of the-pile of carpets and rugs to produce a smooth, homogeneous pile surface of superior appearance, feel and'covering properties. Y

The pilel tufts of. carpets and. rugs are formed of twisted yarns and the yarns are usually composed, in whole or in part, of woolen fibres, which possess a'felting character when subjected to a rubbing action in the presence of heat and moisture. An important feature of the present invention, therefore, resides in a rubbing member or platen adapted to operateupon the heated and .moist pile surface, andin actuating mechanism foroperating'the member-or platen so that it will remove the twist from the ends of the pile yarns andiinterlock or'felt the fibres ,of the adjacent tufts together while they are in a heated and moist condition, to impart to the pile a smooth-,uniform surface thateliminates the usual ,row eifect and produces a more complete coverage of thebacking fabric.

- The carpet or rug may be subjected to the finishing operation at any stage in the line of production, as for example, prior to the final shearing, but in any event the present invention contemplates a construction in which the pile surface is subjected to a heating and moistening operation to first condition the pile and then sub ject it toa massaging or felting treatment.

. In accordance with the present invention the carpet'or rug'is preferably advanced through a steaming mechanism and then to a pile surface rubbi'ng' and pressing member, the degree of pressure being such only as to cause a felting action of the projecting ends of'the woolen fibres without matting or crushing down the pile surface.

The various features of j the invention and novel combination of parts will be further understood from the following description when read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, illustratingone good practical form of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. '1 is a. perspective view with parts broken away of a carpet and rug finishing machine, con- I structed-in accordance with the present lIlYBIlt- 'tion; Y

, Fig. .2 is ,a'longitudinal,vertical, sectional view through the delivery end of the machine of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a verticahsectional view taken on the line .3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal, sectional view through a 'pilegcarpetor rug showing the appearance of the pile tufts before they are treated in accordancewithfthe present invention;

Fig. 5 i's'a similar view showing the carpet or rug of Fig. iafter the ends of the pile forming yarns have been felted together in accordance with the present invention; and

v Fig. 6 is atop plan view of the rubbing memher or platen illustrating the type of movement imparted theretd. p The mechanism for carrying out the features of the present inventionmay be variously construct- I ed and in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawingsthe operative parts of the machine are supported by the side frames '1, which arej spaced sufilciently to accommodate the width of the carpet or rug to be treated, and are secured in spaced relation to each other by, the transversely extending. rods or braces 2.

The carpet or rug F'to be finished in accordance ,with the present invention is fed to the machine of Fig. '1 over the roller 3 rotatably supported at the end of the machine by the brackets 4, and may be supplied from any suitable source. 7

It is important thatthe'pile surface of the carpet or rug be delivered to the, rubbing or massag- 7 ing means in a heated and moist condition, a result which is accomplished in the construction shown by providing the steam box 5, mounted Yupon the machine frame by the hangers 6, the ends of which are bent around the transversely extending bearings or braces 7, and the steam ,box is provided with the side and end walls 8. Within the 'steambox is a series of steam pipes 9, having the steam discharge apertures 10 which, preferably,.are arranged so as to direct the steam the steam box, and is advanced through the ma;

chine by the spiked roller 12 rotatably supported by the brackets 13. any suitable means such as the worm wheel 14 having the cooperating worm 15, upon'the shaft 16, which shaft is driven by the bevel gears 17 from the power shaft 18 rotatably supported by the brackets 19 in the lower portion of the ma chine.

In the construction shown' thezsteam;which passes from the steam box upwardly through the carpet or rug is collected in the hood 20 having the upwardly extending discharge pipe 21, and the moisture that collects in the steam box 5 may be carried off by a drain, not shown. 7

The fabric F in the construction shown passes directly from the steam treatment just mentioned to the rubbing or massaging mechanism and is preferably supported while its upper surface is being subjected to the rubbing operation. The

supporting means provided for this purpose in the construction shown comprises 'a board or the like 22, which is supported transversely of the machine below the pile rubbing member orplaten 23. It is desirable to provide means for effecting a relative adjustment between the board 22' and platen 23 to accommodate fabrics of different thicknesses, and to vary the pressure of the platen 23 upon the pile surface, and while it is apparent that the desired adjustment may be secured by raising or lowering either the board 22 or platen 23, in the construction shown, provision is made for vertical adjustment of the fabric supporting member 22. This adjustment is secured in the construction shown by providing at the lower face of the board 22 the metal plate or plates 24, theends of which project a short distance beyond the ends of the board 22, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The ends of the plate 24 are adjustably supported from. the upper flanges of the side frames 1 by the bolts 25, the tapered heads of which are i countersunk in the flanges just mentioned, and

the bolts are rigidly secured to the flanges by locked nuts 26. The bolts 25 extend through holes in the plate 24 and this plate is yieldingly and adjustably supported by the coiled springs 27 confined between the lower adjusting nuts 28 and under face of the plate 24; the upward movement of the plate 24 under action of the compressed spring 27 being limited by the adjusting nuts 29.

In the form of pile carpet or rug illustrated .in the drawings the twisted pile yarns 30 are secured to the backing fabric by looping these yarns about the upper wefts 31, and the upper wefts' 31' are bound to the lower wefts 32 by the chain warps 33, the upper and lower wefts being separated by'the stuffer warps 34.

In order to secure the improved finish of the present invention it is important that the movement imparted to the rubbing member or platen 23 shall serve to untwist the pile yarns 30 and also to effect an interlocking or felting of the end fibres of the adjacent yarns together while 7 in a heated and moist condition.

While different forms of movements maybe employed to secure the desired result, the platen The spiked'roller is driven by ployed where a relatively wide machine is used.

The eccentrics 35 are rigidly secured to the lower ends of the vertical shafts 36, which are journaled in bearings 37 secured to the spaced transversely extending beams 38. The beams 38, in the construction shown, have their opposite ends bolted to the I-beams 39, which are bolted to the angle irons 40 that are rigidly secured to the upper flanges of the side frames 1.

Rotative movement is imparted to the vertical shafts 36 by the bevel gears 41 that mesh with the bevel gears 42. The gears 42 are secured to the transversely extending shaft 43 which is journaled in bearings provided upon the brackets 44, which brackets are secured to the transversely extending beams 38. The shaft 43in the construction shown is driven from thelower or power shaft 13 by the sprocket chain 45 which passes around the lower sprocket 46 and upper sprocket 47. v The eccentrics 35 serve not only to operate the plate 23, but also to support its weight and to absorb the upward thrust of the platen when in actual operation. The eccentrics 35 operate in the eccentric sleeves or bearings 48 rigidly mounted within the blocks 49 secured to the upper face of the platen 23. The bearing 48 preferably has an inwardly extending annular flange 50 at'its lower end adapted to engage the lower end of the eccentric 35 while the eccen trio is rotatably retained within the sleeve 48 by the upper plate 51.

' The main power shaft 18 may be driven from any suitable source of power, not shown, and serves to operate the eccentrics 35 at a much higher speed than the spiked roller 12, so that the pile fabric will be subjected to repeated rubbing actions as it is advanced over the work sup- L port 22.

The platen 23 is shown as having a flat lower face but this face may be rounded or given other shapes, and it is found in practice that good results are secured by covering the lower face of the platen with a ribbed sheet of rubber; however, woven fabric or other covering material may be used to produce the desired felting of the woolen fibres. While only one platen is shown in the embodiment of the invention illustrated, two or more platens may be employed on the same machine when it is desired to increase the rubbing or felting action, and in some cases it may be desirable to employ a pair of platens and. operate them so that any tendency of one platen to shift the fabric laterally will be counteracted by the movement of the other platen at that instance in the opposite direction.

The carpet or rug after being treated in accordance with the present invention may-be lilo lid

out or separate the fibres at the ends of the yarn, and cause the fibres of adjacent yarns to interlock and felt together, as shown in Fig. 5. Thus the pile face of the rug or carpet is given a smooth, homogeneous surface that eliminates the row appearance of the tufts, and forms a more complete coverage for the backing fabric so that it will not grin throug and imparts an improved feel and lustre to the pile surface.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a machine for treating the pile surface of carpets and rugs to felt together the woolen fibres of the pile forming yarns in the production of a homogeneous pile tread surface, the combination of a steaming and moistening chamber, means for advancing the carpet or rug through said chamber to condition the pile, a support and a felting platen at the exit end of said chamber between which the carpet or rug is passed as it is fed from the chamber, shafts mounted on the machine frame above the platen and having eccentrics, connections between the eccentric and the platen for supporting the weight of the platen that it may act upon the pile surface in like contact therewith, and means for operating the eccentrics to impart a light felting action to the platen that causes the end portions of the pile forming yarns to be permanently felted together Without crushing or matting effect.

2. In a machine of the character described for treating pile carpets and rugs, the combination of a steaming and moistening chamber, means for feeding a carpet or rug through the steaming and moistening chamber to condition it, a yielding support outside of and adjacent the exit of the steaming and moistening chamber over which the heated and moistened carpet or rug is passed, a platen above the yielding support, and means above the platen and between its ends for supporting it with light contact on the pile surface and for imparting a light felting action to the platen to felt the pile yarns together and produce a homogeneous pile surface without crushing or matting effect.

3. In a machine for finishing the pile surface of carpets and rugs, the combination of a steaming and moistening chamber, means for feeding a carpet or rug through said chamber that the steam may pass through the carpet or rug to condition it, a'support and an opposed platen outside of and closely adjacent the exit of the steaming and moistening chamber between which the carpet or rug is progressively fed, and means above and between the ends of the platen for sustaining the weight thereof and for imparting a rotary reciprocating movement to the platen in light contact with the pile to felt the heated and moist fibres of the pile permanently together without crushing or matting effect as the carpet or rug emerges from the steaming and moistening chamber.

4. In a machine for finishing the pile surface of carpets and rugs, the combination of a steaming and moistening chamber, means for feeding a carpet or rug through said chamber to condition the pile for felting, a support at the exit of the chamber over which the moist and heated carpet or rug is passed as it emerges from said chamber, a platen opposed to said support, a plurality of blocks mounted on the upper side of the platen and having eccentric bearings, eccentrics operating in the bearings of said blocks, shafts carrying the eccentrics, and a plate or overhang engaging the upper surface of each eccentric and secured to the platen whereby the weight of the platen is supported by the eccentrics and their shafts so that a light felting action may be imparted to the end portions of the pile without crushing or matting effect.

RICHARD G. KNOWLAND. WELLESLEY B. COOPER. 

